Thursday, January 15, 2015

Information, Analytics and Speed are the New Mandates

The reality of information is entirely contained in the speed of its dissemination. ~ Paul VirilioInformation has a shelf life. Its value diminishes quickly with the passing of time. In a world of moving customers, employees, vehicles, subcontractors, materials, suppliers, etc., knowing what is happening at a precise time is critical for decision-making, scheduling and planning. If some information is 90 minutes old, others 45 minutes old, and more available in real-time - you are going to have a real challenge integrating that information and forming an accurate and clear picture of reality!Optimal efficiency and accuracy, in the scenario above, can only be achieved when the speed of information collection and dissemination is coordinated and real-time. This means having mobile data communications and sensor technologies in place and integrating it to present an accurate impression of reality in real-time.

For many industries the quality of their information logistics systems is the new competitive playing field. In history many of the greatest battles were won or lost based on the accuracy and timeliness of the information used to decide how best to maneuver armies, navies and air forces. Enterprises today are in a similar position.

Legacy IT systems that are incapable of supporting a real-time information collection, communication, processing, analyzing and disseminating environment will be the reason many companies will no longer remain competitive in 2015.

In the past long-term planning was the ticket to success. As the tempo of business increased, short-term planning became more important. Today, nothing short of real-term is good enough to compete in a hyper-competitive global market.

Today the efficient and real-time coordination of multiple moving parts is mandatory in many industries. That means mobile communications and sensor technologies have become an absolute requirement on the front-end, and IT systems that can support real-time on the back-end. What needs to change in your IT environment in 2015 to support real-term planning and real-time decision-making?

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.